


A Sprinkling of Stardust

by startlingirony



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Junmyeon is a cute astronomy student, M/M, One Shot, Yifan is a shooting star child
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:28:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,521
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27008122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/startlingirony/pseuds/startlingirony
Summary: Junmyeon is an astronomy student working at an observatory. What begins as a normal meteor shower ends up being one of the sweetest nights of his life.
Relationships: Kim Junmyeon | Suho/Wu Yi Fan | Kris
Kudos: 24





	A Sprinkling of Stardust

**Author's Note:**

> This is dedicated to my dear friend Emily, who patiently listens to my incoherent ramblings about Kris and EXO. I really appreciate having such a beloved friend. I hope you enjoy it.

The chirping of a shrill alarm echoed through the dimly lit room, a figure stirring within one of the beds. Junmyeon’s alarm was successful in its goal to rouse the dormant student from his slumber. The 22 year old reached out and fumbled around on his nightstand, trying to make the god-awful sound stop before his ears exploded. He finally reached his phone and hit the button that finally granted him some relief. Hitting his bedside lamp with his hand, he felt around until he finally came across the switch. Flipping it quickly, Junmyeon’s room flickered to life and he sat up with a groan. He looked at the clock on his phone, reading the time. It was one in the morning.

After his agonising awakening, Junmyeon was up and alert. He trudged his way across his shared dorm, ignoring his sleeping roommate. Junmyeon rubbed his eyes as he approached the coffee maker, popping in a flavor pod and placing a cup under it. He quickly hit the button and the coffee began brewing.

“God knows I’ll need more than one cup,” Junmyeon whispered as he turned away from the small kitchen counter in the corner of their dorm. He glanced over at his roommate, Jongin, one last time to make sure the younger boy was still asleep. He was, much to Junmyeon’s relief. Junmyeon briskly walked over to his dresser, discarding his sweatpants and hoodie for a button up, jeans, and a knitted sweater. The coffee machine gave a pleasant tune as he slid a pair of socks on along with his sneakers. His coffee was done, the pleasant aroma filling the small room.

Junmyeon inhaled deeply and retrieved his coffee, drinking the cup rather quickly after adding only a pinch of sugar and a splash of milk. He was desperate to get the caffeine inside of him, desperate to wake up. Junmyeon set his cup in the sink and popped another pod into the machine, this time setting his small thermos underneath it. He would definitely need some for the road.

After quickly brushing his teeth, the student set to packing his backpack. He packed his notebooks, a textbook, his pouch of pencils and pens, a ruler, his laptop, and a few granola bars into the bag, zipping it up. When his second cup of coffee was prepared, he slipped the thermos into the small bottle pouch on the side of the backpack. Junmyeon grabbed his phone, wallet, and keys, and he was out the door.

Getting into his car, he stuck the key into the ignition and turned, the engine sputtering to life with great hesitancy. Junmyeon was relieved every time his car turned on properly, knowing one day he would not be so lucky. He buckled his seat belt and switched the headlights on, setting his phone into the mount he had on his dash. Junmyeon punched an address into the device and plugged it into his car.

The lady in the GPS system began barking directions at Junmyeon and he pulled out of the parking garage, beginning the peaceful but suffocating drive. It was now 1:12 in the morning, way too early for a human to be awake. Yet here he was, on his way.

Junmyeon was a senior studying astronomy after far too many major changes. His parents wanted him to major in something pre-med, or pre-law, or business, so that’s what he started out with. But he was miserable, absolutely downright miserable. He’d rather spend time gazing at the stars than studying for business. So, after two years of convincing, he was able to major in astronomy. Junmyeon could finally put all his silly trivia about stars to good use. His desk, that had once been covered with books on statistics or accounting, were now covered with hand drawn star charts, all beautifully detailed and labelled. His ceiling had glow in the dark star stickers on them, something both he and Jongin enjoyed.

It took Junmyeon about fifteen minutes to arrive at the observatory. Traffic was easier than usual, given the time of day. He hadn’t had much trouble. He pulled into the parking lot, taking his reserved spot. Sifting through the contents of his backpack, he pulled a lanyard from it and placed it around his neck, his badge hanging from it. Junmyeon grabbed his bag and flung it over his shoulder, taking his coffee out. He locked his car behind him and made his way for the front doors, the warm light that came from inside beckoning him.

He was very much awake now, excitedly sipping from his thermos as he walked the halls of the observatory. Not many people were here tonight, despite there being a meteor shower. It would just be Junmyeon doing work on his own tonight, he knew how to work the telescopes. He opened the door to a stairwell and began to climb, humming a gentle tune to himself. Junmyeon had observed meteor showers before, but this one felt special. He was the only one that would witness the show in all its splendor.

Reaching the top floor, he swiped his access card that allowed him into the main room of the observatory. He opened the door and stepped inside, the glow of the computer screens inside only making him more excited. Walking over to one of them, he logged into the main system and began typing commands into it. Slowly, a portion of the ceiling of the room began to open, revealing a beautiful starry sky. The indigo sky was cloudless, allowing Junmyeon to simply stare up into the expanse of space.

No matter how many times he looked up at that sky, it never failed to take his breath away.

His thoughts were interrupted by a quick streak of light across the sky, signalling the beginning of the meteor shower. He hurried over to the large telescope in the center of the room, quickly beginning to set it up. After making sure everything was in place and the lenses were clean, he set up his star charts on a table adjacent to the telescope. He also began scribbling into a notebook, writing down some information. When the first meteor fell, telescope settings, telescope positioning, light pollution levels, and star positioning.

With all of this in line, he peered into the eyepiece, he began watching the meteors fall from the heavens. He counted them. Sometimes the meteors fell in groups, sometimes in pairs, and sometimes alone. Some of them made large streaks in the air, while some barely made a streak at all. Some were dim, some bright. Junmyeon couldn’t keep the grin off of his face as he watched the beautiful lights dance across the sky.

Suddenly his attention was captured by something. A meteor was falling, brighter than any meteor he’d ever seen. It was huge, too, plummeting towards the Earth quickly and burning up in magnificent colors. It sparked through the sky, continuing to appear larger. Junmyeon wondered, was it going to land near him? The meteor only got closer and closer before striking the earth. The ground shook under Junmyeon’s feet, and his eyes opened widely. He knew the meteor hadn’t landed far from the observatory, and that he needed to find it.

Junmyeon threw the door open and flew down the several sets of stairs, his heart racing as he thought of what could await him. Maybe there was a real meteorite! He could only imagine as he burst through the front door of the observatory, looking around to find where the object had struck the earth. After a few brief moments of searching, Junmyeon finally found it. The lights of the parking lot illuminated a small crater that had formed not far from the observatory.

Junmyeon ran over to the crater, trying to see the meteorite itself. Once he reached the rim of the crater, he saw something he truly wasn’t expecting.

Sitting inside the crater, instead of a meteorite or large stone, was a man. Junmyeon couldn’t understand this at all, how did a man fall from the sky? He was speechless, his jaw dropping to his feet as he watched the man slowly stand. The mysterious figure turned and looked at Junmyeon.

He was breathtaking.

The man’s skin was decorated with golden glitter, small golden stars adorning his hair in a crown. Long, flowing black hair fell down the man’s back, gently moving in the soft breeze that surrounded them. The man was emitting a gentle glow, illuminating Junmyeon’s face. The figure’s dark eyes went from the student before him to himself, and he began to gently dust off the outfit he was wearing. He was draped in silken dark blue hanfu lined with fine gold, which fell gracefully to his feet. The man’s wrists and fingers were adorned with golden jewelry, which sparkled under the starlit sky.

Junmyeon decided to speak, not daring to move. “Who- who are you? How did you get here?” He began, gently fidgeting with his sweater.

The being, obviously not of this earth, looked back to Junmyeon with an expression almost unreadable. It slowly began to approach the student, his clothes flowing gracefully. He stood before Junmyeon, towering over him.

He brought his face closer to Junmyeon’s beginning to study him wordlessly. Junmyeon could see the gold shapes that had been drawn onto the man’s clothing, forming constellations he was able to recognize. His eyes looked gentle but curious, it seemed like he had never seen a human before.

“Um… hello? Who are you?” Junmyeon repeated, his cheeks heating up as the being continued to study him. “Or maybe the better question is… what are you?”

“Silence,” the figure quickly said in a deep but melodious voice, putting a finger to Junmyeon’s lips. When he pulled the finger back, glowing stardust was left behind on the boy’s lips. “I will answer your questions momentarily.” His eyes lifted from Junmyeon to the area around him, stepping back to gather his bearings. He began to walk, motioning for Junmyeon to walk beside him.

Junmyeon, now completely silent, abandoned the spot he was standing in to walk next to the deity. He spoke not a word, not wanting to scare or enrange the beautiful man before him. His curiosity pushed him onwards, making him follow the figure.

They stopped under a tree, where the taller man took a seat in the grass. “I will answer your questions now. Sit.” He patted the grass next to him, looking at Junmyeon patiently.

Junmyeon quickly sat next to him, biting his lip. “Alright, who are you? That’s my first question,” he asked, his eyes locked onto the figure before him.

“I am Yifan. You may call me as such, I do not mind how you address me,” the man, Yifan, began, his eyes gazing up at the stars.

“Yifan, okay,” Junmyeon nodded. “What are you? I can tell you’re… not human.”

Yifan’s gaze fell to Junmyeon and he gave an amused smile. “You’re correct. I am what most humans call a shooting star. I fell here by accident,” he explained, the constellations and stars on his hanfu shifting to form new ones.

“You… fell here? How does a star fall out of the sky?” Junmyeon questioned, watching the swirling stars on Yifan’s clothing. “I’m confused.”

“That is okay, I did not expect you to understand,” Yifan said with a gentle smile, beginning to glow a bit brighter. “It is complicated to explain in human words.”

Junmyeon nodded, blinking to adjust to the light. “How will you get back up into the sky?” He wondered if he was dreaming, none of this could be happening, logically.

“I will find my way, I suppose,” Yifan guessed, looking back up to the sky above them briefly before looking back to Junmyeon. “You have not told me your name. I do not wish to simply address you as “human”. What is your name?”

Junmyeon was flustered. “Ah, my name is Kim Junmyeon, you can call me Junmyeon if you want. I’m a student,” he sputtered, giving a gentle bow to Yifan.

“A student? What are you studying?” Yifan looked interested, his glow only getting brighter as he became more excited.

“I’m studying astronomy.”

Yifan looked confused.

“I’m studying stars and constellations.” Yifan made the connection and he gave a beautiful smile. “How lucky for us to have met then, if you are studying stars,” he said, his eyes glittering. “I have heard several stories of other people studying stars from my mother. She likes that there are people that appreciate her work.”

“Her work? Does your mother create stars?” Junmyeon raised an eyebrow, now incredibly intrigued.

“Yes, we both do. I am still learning how to make them. The last one I made unfortunately went supernova prematurely, so my mother decided to have me practice other things. Tonight I was practicing my dancing, but I made a mistake and fell down here,” Yifan explained.

“Could you make a tiny star? I want to see,” Junmyeon beamed, scooting closer to Yifan.

“I suppose. It will be small, so you can fit it into the palm of your hand,” Yifan said, turning to face Junmyeon. He began to focus, and it wasn’t long before there was a small spark in Junmyeon’s hand. A small star was born, twinkling and glittering within Junmyeon’s hand. It was the size of a pea when it first sparked, slowly growing until it was the size of a grape. It was a beautiful little red star, and Yifan glowed with pride.

“I want you to have it, Junmyeon,” Yifan said, gently cupping the star in his hands. When he let go of the star, it had a golden chain around it. He took the star, now made into a necklace. “I can only give this to you if you promise to keep me a secret. No one must know of my existence.”

Junmyeon nodded, the look in his eyes genuine. “I don’t want to tell anyone.”

Yifan nodded and placed the star around Junmyeon’s neck, smiling warmly as it sparkled pleasantly. “I must go now, Junmyeon. My mother has come to take me home and I do not want to keep her waiting,” he explained, standing.

Junmyeon hurried to his feet, nodding. “Will I see you again?” he felt a slight ache in his chest, he did not wish to see the starboy leave.

Yifan leaned in and placed a gentle kiss to Junmyeon’s cheek. Again, the golden stardust was left behind, tickling his skin. “It will be so. As long as I am your secret and my star is around your neck,” he said, nodding. “The star will shine extra brightly when it is time for us to meet again. You will find me here.”

Junmyeon blushed, nodding. “I’ll wait for you,” he cooed with a heartfelt smile.

Yifan nodded, mirroring Junmyeon’s smile as he slowly began to dissolve into stardust. His eyes looked sad as he finally vanished, leaving Junmyeon by himself.

Junmyeon could only hope their next meeting would come as soon as he hoped.


End file.
